Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – November 27, 2011.

Time for Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla to consider a trade?…Canucks shopping for a defenseman?…Could the Avalanche trade Paul Stastny?…Lightning shopping for a goalie? Read on for the latest in today’s rumor roundup.

Iginla considering a future without the Flames?

CALGARY SUN/OTTAWA SUN/EDMONTON JOURNAL/CBC.CA: reported on speculation Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, for the first time, may be considering his future without the Flames. The Calgary Sun’s Eric Francis claimed “several sources” close to Iginla claim he’s quietly struggling with the realization he won’t win a Stanley Cup with the Flames, but doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his iconic image in Calgary. Francis reported Flames president Ken King said the team wouldn’t trade Iginla, and CBC’s Elliotte Friedman reported GM Jay Feaster said the same thing. Iginla has one more season remaining on his current contract. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch meanwhile suggested if the Flames shop him, the Dallas Stars might have interest, now that they’re under new ownership . Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal suggested most of the Cup contenders couldn’t afford Iginla this season as they’re close to being maxed out on cap space.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was only a matter of time for the Iginla trade speculation to pop up again. I doubt, however, Iginla and the Flames would consider a trade over the course of the season. Iginla is the face of the Flames, its heart and soul, and leaving Calgary would be a very tough decision for him to make, for while he might want another opportunity at winning the Stanley Cup, he remains loyal to the Flames franchise. I suspect if he does agree to be dealt, it’ll happen in the off-season, when teams have more cap space and willingness to make deals. Ultimately, the decision is Iginla’s, and I don’t see him seeking a trade. If anything, Iginla could leave that decision up to the Flames front office. If they approach him and ask he waive his movement clause, then Iginla would probably consider it. For now, they have no intention of doing so, and I believe he has no intention of seeking a trade.

OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Lightning could be target LA Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier, and they’d like to move Mattias Ohlund but no one will take on his contract…The Canucks have been trying to move defenseman Keith Ballard for another blueliner, and are believed trying to pry Matt Carle out of Philadelphia…The Islanders won’t trade alternate captain Kyle Okposo, who’s signed to a long-term contract….It’s believed the struggling Avalanche could make a roster shakeup via trade. Even Paul Stastny has been mentioned as a trade candidate in the rumor mill…The Flames might have interest in Edmonton Oilers center Sam Gagner…The Hurricanes are trying to move defenseman Tomas Kaberle…Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman will try to use the savings from demoting forward Rostslav Olesz and his $3.125 million cap hit to the minors by dealing for a blueliner.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lightning and several other teams, like the Columbus Blue Jackets, have interest in Bernier, but the Kings aren’t under any pressure to move him, and quite frankly, I doubt they will, at least during this season…The Lightning won’t be able to move Mattias Ohlund, in part because he’s been sidelined by knee surgeries since the season began…The Canucks won’t be able to move Ballard, as he’s carrying an expensive contract. They also won’t be able to land Matt Carle, as I suspect the Flyers want to keep him around with Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen getting older…I think the Isles will replace their head coach before they trade Okposo…I can’t see the Oilers trading Gagner to the Flames, do you?…The Hurricanes have 4.25 million reasons per year why they’re stuck with Kabere.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson reports the Blue Jackets aren’t finding any takers for center Derick Brassard, thanks to his expensive (over $3 million per season) contract…The Oilers would certainly like Maple Leafs blueliner Cody Franson if they could get him in a trade…Matheson wondered if the Predators should consider shopping backup Anders Lindback, plus toss in either Jonathan Blum or Ryan Ellis, for a forward.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blue Jackets are stuck with Brassard unless they buy him out next summer…The Leafs aren’t shopping Cody Franson…The Predators reportedly intend on re-signing Lindback next summer.

TBO.COM: Erik Erlendsson doesn’t envision Lightning GM Steve Yzerman will trade for a goalie this season but will likely do so next summer. Possible trade targets could include Vancouver’s Cory Schneider and LA’s Jonathan Bernier, while a free agent target could be Minnesota’s Josh Harding.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Yzerman doesn’t pursue one of those guys this season, he’ll certainly be after one of them next summer.

15 Comments

Steve
on November 27, 2011 at 3:58 pm

doubt Iginla would be traded during the season, but he may go to management, and say hey if you get someone interested, I’d waive if you want. One thing is they don’t want a circus during the season

Dan
on November 27, 2011 at 4:24 pm

And don’t forget there will be a slew of valuable roster pieces available in the off-season from the Quebec Coyotes (?) as well.

BoltsNation
on November 27, 2011 at 4:44 pm

Roloson is killing us, but Garon is sitting with an impressive 2.46 gaa and a .916 save percentage. Going after a goalie in the off season my be jumping the gun. Dustin Tokarski is waitin in the wings for his chance

Grizzledbear
on November 27, 2011 at 5:45 pm

While it would make an abundant amount of sense for the Preds to package Lindback and Ellis in a trade for a skilled foward, David Poile’s obsession with hording Dmen and goalie prospects precludes that potential trade from happening. If it ever did happen, you may have the hospitals in the Nashville region filled up with Preds fans in a state of shock after having collapsed upon hearing the news of the trade. It would be worth it though. 😀

LeafsFan
on November 27, 2011 at 6:07 pm

hahahaha… i cant wait for tokarski just to hear Pierre Macguire lose his sh*t everytime he says his name… also for another player for him to make world junior references with

Do i think Calgary will trade Iginla. NO. But to say there are no cup teams with cap space that can trade for him is wrong. Chicago has 5.5 million in space this year, Detroit has 6 million in space this year and 24 million next year and Nashville which has the pieces that Calgary will want has over 14 million in space this year and. 33.5 million next year. But again Calgary will no trade the face of the club and loss whatever loyalty they have with the fan base. To be able to move on the bext thing to do is to explode the current roster take your lumps for a year or two and build the team. It will be possible to rebuild a playoff team in two or three years. If the front office is smart, Calgary could be a playoff team in two years and be a consistent playoff team, if they are smart and play their cards right. I know that is asking alot but the status quo has not worked.

Dabroons
on November 27, 2011 at 8:51 pm

I saw Dustin Tokarski play last night against Providence and he kept them in the game in the first period when Norfolk was out played. Looks like a great prospect for TB. He was named first star.

me
on November 27, 2011 at 11:13 pm

as a canucks fan, i really want iginla to win a stanley cup. he is one of the, if not the best, power forward ever and winning a cup would be a great way to cap off his career. however, its getting pretty obvious that wont happen in calgay, at least not in the next 4ish years, which is about how much time iggy has left. however, iginla does seem like one of those people that sticks with his team to the end. whichever way it goes, i hope for the best to jarome iginla

dave
on November 27, 2011 at 11:23 pm

What was Carolina thinking signing Kaberle for that contract.
I’m a Bruins fan and never liked the trade we made with Toronto.
I was glad we didn’t resign him.

JacketsFan
on November 28, 2011 at 3:35 am

Brassard was scratched again tonight against St. Louis.
Wish we could offer a 2 for 1 deal, Brassard and Mason for the price of one.

gameon63
on November 28, 2011 at 3:45 am

Iginla could be moved to almost any playoff team provided Feaster and the Flames were willing to take back players with comparable Cap hits (which would mean the Flames would be looking for contracts ending soon plus prospects and/or draft picks). under that scenario virtually any team has a shot at Iginla depending on the deal they offer. the Flames would be better off trading Iginla sooner rather than later as they’re going nowhere this year and he’ll bring a better return if he has another year left on his contract.
i wish Burke hadn’t let his ego get the better of him and he’d traded Kaberle and a 1st (Kadri) for Kessel at the draft instead of the TWO possible franchise players (Seguin & Doug Hamilton) he ended up giving up.
Yzerman may covet Schneider but it’ll only be in the offseason that he gets moved if at all based on his play so far this year. it would take an absolutely over the top deal for Gillis to even consider moving Schneider and it would likely be a multiple player deal involving whatever team taking at least one of Vancouver’s problem contracts (Ballard) as well.

Dino Rondelly
on November 28, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Maybe the asking price for Brassard is to high, I am sure they would find takers on waivers if they wanted to get rid of him that bad.

Iggy wont be trade this year by the Flames and I doubt in the summer either, he will have maximum value next year at the trade deadline when he is going to be UFA and I highly doubt he would sign with the Flames again anyway.

Yzerman needs to find a goalie fast or that team is going to be spinning its wheels for the foreseeable future.

Cowtown75
on November 29, 2011 at 3:42 am

I don’t understand Yzerman’s passiveness on not finding a goalie NOW- they are a really good team now and they could of had it all last year I believe if they had a stud in net- no offence to Roloson, but you could see Tampa being knocked out of the playoffs eventually because of who they had in net. There is no guarantee they will get Schneider, Bernier etc at all- and wasting time in the mean time is not something I would do if I was Stevie Y.

bweb55
on November 29, 2011 at 4:50 am

Bobrovsky to columbus for brassard…Brassard to nashville for ellis and lindback

Quiksilver
on November 29, 2011 at 7:30 pm

@BoltsNation, yeah, they’ve got the same tandem that Edmonton had a few years back, which flopped between the two who managed to have hot streaks when the other was cold and so on. As for Edmonton’s interest in Franson, I think the Leafs should definitely consider trading him if he can provide some of the missing pieces. If Edmonton isn’t willing to offer the right pieces than we can hang on to him, but it would be foolish not to shop him around, even with the blueline injuries we have.

“We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
“Partner of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties”